To the Lictor Goes the Spoils
by PubProse
Summary: The peaceful a simple life of an agri-worker is about to come to an end


The twilight of the evening left a tepid temperature in the air as the day's tempest moved on to the East. The last rays of sunlight shone down through the scattered clouds like the divine radiance of the Emperor himself. Like the rest of us, the birds seemed to celebrate to storm's leaving by leaping into the air and using what daylight was left to feast on the worms and insects that frolicked in the forest of orchards beyond the hillside. Only an hour or so remained before nightfall drew nigh. The agri-sector's foreman fretted over loss of production from a day of workers watching the storm from the barrack's windows and gathering around the priests who preached about the garrisons around the galaxy that also braved the storms of the Imperium's enemies.

An entire day not being in service to the Emperor left me feeling rather guilty though. To gain some respite from this feeling I decided to patrol the large grox paddocks that pushed their way into the hills between the worker barracks and the Planetary Defense base to the West. I gathered my electro-lamp and made my way along the lane between the paddocks and orchard. The planet of Charybdis Alpha is from what I have heard, the closest thing to paradise in the subsystem. Mild seasons and weather which made it easy for crops to be grown year-round and plenty of rolling plains that allowed grox to be raised in mass. According to the Ecclesiarch the planetary governor purged the world of natural predators centuries ago and the perils of war were kept in check by the nearby forgeworld and fortress planets we grew food for. Aside from the odd need to fend-off feral Orks the PDF spent their time and resources in support of the farms and reinforcing Imperial Guard regiments off-world.

The grox fields were still damp and the trees of the orchard were still dripping. As I walked I witnessed some damage in the paddock fence. The electric wire was crushed beneath a toppled tree that fell in from the orchard across the road. My lantern cast light across the hole and as I debated turning to return to barracks, I stopped when I saw the unmistakable stains of blood. My mind raced as I knelt down to touch it. The thick liquid was still slick, partly because of how damp the dirt and surrounding area was. I could only assume it was the blood of one of the grox that must have cut itself as it escaped over the crushed fence. The heavy reptiles were dangerous typically, but to tame them almost all of the ones here were partially lobotomized. Despite this, breeding males had their brains intact and I could not recall if this paddock held a breeding male or a meeker monster.

I followed the trail into the trees. I at least had to see the grox to guarantee which type it was to make sure an aggressive specimen wasn't loose. My lantern light shone deep into the now dark forest as I followed the blood trail. I had become quite aware that I was unarmed, not that a farming axe would help against a rampaging grox all that much. The blood trail continued and I crept my way through the cleared trail until I came upon the grizzly sight.

My gut turned over as my lantern light shown on the scene. The large reptile seemed to be skinned in several places, peeled flesh was flayed away and laid in piles among the meat. Muscles were bare and bone was brightly visible as the blood left in the creature was violently tossed around the grove. The grox's skull was shattered and emptied and laid across the ground, severed from its body.

_"By the Emperor."_

Before I could examine the scene further I turned and bounded the way I came. The freshness of the kill and the scent of blood burrowed its way into my mind and whatever killed it must have been nearby. The path back to the pens was open and only a few meters were left before I rebounded off of something large and looming. I was tossed to the ground and tried to look for what stopped me but in the silent forest my lantern light showed nothing. As I stared into the depths of the darkness the air scintillated with the outline of a massive organism hidden from sight.

I heaved myself back and braced against a tree as the shade moved forward. Its invisible, towering and frightening presence enveloped around me and I could see the beast's skin as it closed in. Like some for of sea creature its camouflaged flesh flitted and flickered to match the leaves around it. Its eyes peered down on me and my ears caught the faint rustling of leaves near my head as wet whisker like tentacles wrapped around the base of my neck and skull. I was in a sickening embrace with the massive creature as its brutish size enveloped my body. I felt a sharp pain at the back of my head and as I focused on its eyes my vision went black. I could only whisper a whimpering prayer, "The Emperor protects..."


End file.
